Not an Abstract Concept (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Steve and Catherine take Joan to storytime at the library. Part 4 of the REAL World Thanksgiving Marathon.


**Notes:** Huge, huge, HUGE thank you to Mari and Sammy on this one – especially your input for the last couple scenes. You two are the best for so many reasons.

Readers and REAL McRollers – we say it with every story because it is absolutely true. Thank you for your incredibly generous support and feedback. We are so glad you are in the REAL World with us!

I hope you enjoy!

* * *

_Not an Abstract Concept (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

Catherine came back into the house and shut the door after seeing her parents to the cab they were taking to meet friends at Pearl. Steve was sitting in the armchair and paused in his conversation with Grandma Ang on the sofa.

"It's almost 10:00," Catherine said. "We should probably get going."

He nodded and stood, moving to the base of the stairs and calling up, "Mare, come on. Didn't you say the storytime was at 10:30?"

"My purse is upstairs," Ang said, starting to stand.

"Stay put. I'll grab it for you, Gram," Catherine offered.

She started up the stairs.

"See if she needs any help, will ya?" Steve said.

Catherine nodded back at him from the landing and continued up the stairs. She went quickly to the guest room her grandmother was using and grabbed her purse. She moved toward the other room just as Mary came out carrying Joan.

"Hey, you okay?" Catherine asked immediately upon seeing Mary's pained look. "You mentioned a headache at breakfast. Is it still bothering you?"

"Yeah," Mary said wearily.

"Here, let me . . . come here, Joan." Catherine lifted the toddler out of Mary's arms.

"Thanks." Mary sighed and adjusted the diaper bag strap on her shoulder. "I took some Tylenol but it hasn't kicked in yet."

"Well, we don't have to go to the library. You should just take it easy here."

"But Joan really loves going to storytime. I don't want her to miss it. You love the library, don't you, peanut?"

"Bry!" Joan said, kicking her feet happily. "Sing!"

"That's right. We sing at the library."

Mary headed for the stairs and started down.

Catherine followed with Joan and said, "We could take her. Mary, really, you should rest."

"What's wrong?" Steve asked instantly as they came into view. "You okay?"

He took the diaper bag from his sister as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"My head still hurts," Mary said. "No big deal. I took some Tylenol."

"Come sit down," Ang said. She pushed herself up from the sofa and waved Mary over.

"I was just saying she should stay here and rest," Catherine said. "We can take Joan to storytime."

Steve nodded, his hands on his hips as he watched Mary move gingerly toward the sofa.

She sighed as she sat. "Yeah, a room full of hyperactive toddlers might not be the best thing for a headache."

Steve's eyes widened slightly at that description of storytime.

"And I'll stay here with you," Ang said.

Catherine gave her grandmother a grateful look.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Mary protested.

"No arguments." Ang placed a hand on Mary's shoulder and squeezed gently. "I'm going to make you a cup of tea and make sure you rest."

Mary gave her a small smile. "Well, if you're sure . . ."

Ang looked over at Catherine with Joan happily settled in her arms and Steve beside her with the diaper bag.

"I think those two can handle storytime," she said with a conspiratorial wink.

* * *

Steve entered the program room at the library carrying Joan. Catherine was right behind him with the diaper bag over her shoulder.

There was upbeat music coming from a CD player on the front table while several toddlers and adults gathered around a woman in her early thirties who was standing on a colorful parachute blowing bubbles.

"Come on in," the librarian said to them with a welcoming smile. "You're in the right place."

She dipped the bubble wand in the bottle and blew a stream of bubbles to the delight of the toddlers who scurried to try and catch them.

"Get 'em! Get 'em!" she encouraged the children with a laugh.

She took a few steps toward the semi-circle of chairs set up behind the parachute and blew more bubbles around the shyer toddlers who were keeping close to their caregivers.

Steve raised his eyebrows and said quietly, "A parachute." He nodded approvingly. "This might be more fun than we thought, huh, Joan?"

Catherine rolled her eyes with a smile.

"Can you say sky blossom?" he asked his niece. Joan looked at him and he repeated louder, "Sky blossom."

"Ky om."

He nodded and said, "We'll work on that."

Catherine chuckled and stepped around him to walk farther into the room. He followed her to an empty chair, and she set the diaper bag on it.

Steve put Joan on the ground, and Catherine knelt to unbutton the light sweater the toddler was wearing over her shirt. Joan started to walk forward, reaching for the bubbles but Catherine gently pulled her back.

"Hang on, hang on. Let's get your sweater off."

Joan let her pull the sleeves off one by one, bouncing in place as she watched the approaching librarian.

"Hi. Thanks for coming," she said. "Who's this?"

"This is Joan," Catherine said, smiling up at the woman.

"Hi, Joan. I'm Miss Kristin. Are you ready to get some bubbles?"

She blew a stream and Joan squealed, clapping and reaching for the bubbles. A large one popped when she touched it, and she looked at her fingers then back at Catherine and Steve who both smiled encouragingly when she showed them her hand.

"You got it!" Catherine said. "We saw."

Joan looked back at Miss Kristin who was walking toward another newcomer. Joan took a step then turned back and reached for Catherine's hand.

"Caf," she said and pointed in the direction of the bubbles.

Catherine inhaled sharply, looking up at Steve with wide eyes.

"Did you hear-?"

He smiled broadly and nodded.

Joan tugged on Catherine's fingers and pointed again. "Caf! Go!"

"Okay, let's go," Catherine said with a huge smile as she stood. "Let's get the bubbles."

She let Joan lead her toward the group of toddlers surrounding Miss Kristin.

Steve stood back and folded his arms, watching the two of them happily.

After another minute of bubble blowing, Miss Kristin put the cap on her bottle and said brightly, "Well, now that I'm sufficiently soapy, let's get started." She set the bottle on the front table and turned, wiping her hands on her pants. "I should really know by now to bring a towel," she said with a laugh. "Okay, everyone find their seats!"

Catherine led Joan back toward Steve who moved the diaper bag under the chair and sat down. Catherine followed the lead of several other adults and sat on the parachute.

"Come on, Joan." She motioned for the toddler to join her.

Joan turned around and backed up, plopping down on Catherine's lap. She craned her head back first one way and then the other until she could see Steve in his chair behind them.

Catherine looked back at him.

"Come on, Teeve," she said, patting the space beside her with a smile.

"Teeve," Joan echoed.

He chuckled and shook his head, sliding down to sit next to them.

They all looked to Miss Kristin as she knelt down in front.

"Okay, can you all reach real high? Stretch high!" she encouraged.

Catherine guided Joan's arms up as the librarian started to sing to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."

_"Welcome welcome, everyone. Let's reach up and touch the sun . . ."_

* * *

After two books interspersed with a half dozen rhymes and songs, Miss Kristin rubbed her hands together in excitement.

"Are we ready for the parachute?"

Several of the regular storytime attendees squealed with anticipation.

"Okay, let's have the kids stay sitting on the parachute. Adults, grab a handle and let's make some waves!"

She started to shake the parachute singing _Row, Row, Row Your Boat_, and the other adults followed her lead. Most of the toddlers, including Joan, giggled and shrieked in delight. Several tried to pat the parachute down when it billowed up near them. A few of the more timid of the group scrambled to get off and join their caregivers.

"I think we'll need some help holding the parachute for this next song. So everyone find a handle," Miss Kristin instructed. "Come on, Alani. Noah, let's go. Samir, find Mom."

The adults started cajoling their children off the parachute.

"Joan, come here," Steve said, motioning to her.

She crawled toward him and he picked her up, setting her on her feet between him and Catherine.

"Here, hang on to this," he said, holding out a handle for her to grip.

Once everyone was in position, Miss Kristin cued up a track on the CD player and said, "Okay, this is my favorite song for parachute play. Everyone hold on with your _left hand_ and let's go around in a circle."

She pressed play, and Jim Gill's voice began singing the song "Alabama, Mississippi."

They walked in a slow circle until the chorus began then they shook the parachute in time with the music.

_"Shake, shake, shake, shake it, baby. Shake, shake, shake, shake it, baby. Shake, shake, shake, shake it, baby. Shake it on down to New Orleans."_

Joan laughed and shook her handle vigorously with both hands. She looked up at Steve with a huge smile but the movement caused her to lose her balance.

He reached out quickly and prevented her fall.

"You're good, Joanie. I got you," he said reassuringly.

Once righted, she immediately went back to shaking the parachute, and Steve looked at Catherine who had a surprised smile on her face.

After a few more songs, Miss Kristin tossed beach balls onto the parachute and had the adults kneel so they could bounce and roll the balls around more easily with the toddlers.

"Ball!" Joan said, releasing the handle and clapping excitedly.

"Keep shaking," Catherine encouraged with a laugh. "We want to keep those balls bouncing."

Steve helped Joan regain her grip, and she beamed with joy as she shook the parachute and watched the balls bounce and roll until all four flew off the parachute.

"It's time to make this a true sky blossom," Miss Kristin announced with a wink at Steve. She smiled at his surprised expression and added, "My fiancé is stationed at Pearl."

Steve nodded, approving of the military slang, and Catherine laughed. He looked at her and smiled.

Miss Kristin addressed the group. "Okay, we're going to lift the parachute all the way up in the air and then when we come down, anyone who wants to can go underneath," she explained. "Ready? Here we gooooooo!"

She stood, and the other adults joined her in raising the parachute up as high as they could before bringing it down.

"Go under, go under!" the librarian said excitedly, and the majority of the toddlers and adults did just that.

The adults sat on the edge of parachute to keep its mushroom shape as long as possible. Several of the toddlers ran or crawled around, and their absolute glee was reflected on the faces of their caregivers.

Joan clutched Steve's hand as she bounced happily in place, unable to keep still but not quite ready to take off alone. She looked over at Catherine with wide, excited eyes, bubbling with laughter.

"Caf!" she said, reaching out toward Catherine's hair that was clinging to the nylon of the parachute.

Letting go of Steve, she launched herself into Catherine's arms. Catherine stood the toddler in her lap and Joan ran her hands over Catherine's hair, giggling at the strands that stuck out.

"Is that funny?" Catherine asked with a laugh, delighted with Joan's reaction.

Steve laughed, joining Joan in running a hand through Catherine's staticky hair. Resting a hand on her shoulder, he caught Catherine's eyes and they held each other's gaze for a moment before Joan's giggles reclaimed their attention.

* * *

After putting away the parachute, Miss Kristin turned the music back on and set out plenty of toys for the toddlers.

Steve had gotten up to take a quick call off to the side of the room and after pocketing his phone, he stood back and folded his arms to watch Catherine and Joan on the rug.

The toddler found a duck puppet on the floor and picked it up. She held it out to Catherine who put it on and made quacking noises as she used the puppet to playfully nip at Joan's neck and tummy.

Joan shrieked with delight. "More! More, Caf!"

Steve smiled broadly as he watched the two interact.

An older woman standing near him smiled at his reaction and stepped closer.

"Your daughter is adorable," she said.

Steve tore his eyes away from Catherine and Joan to look at her.

"And how nice that you and your wife both got to come today," she continued.

"We're not . . ." He shook his head. "Uh, that's our niece. She's visiting from the mainland."

The woman smiled knowingly and said, "Well, that's nice practice for the two of you."

"Oh . . . um . . . we're . . ." He chuckled awkwardly and was saved an answer when he spotted Joan toddling over to him.

"Teeve!"

She tugged on his pant legs and lifted her arms in the universal request to be picked up.

"Up you go!" he said with a grin.

He lifted her high in the air, and she kicked her legs and giggled. As he brought her back down he blew a raspberry on her cheek, and she squealed happily.

Catherine joined them, placing her hand on Steve's arm. "She needs changing. I don't think we can wait till we get home."

He nodded and said, "I'll do it. Come on, Joanie."

Catherine smiled at the moniker.

The woman beside Steve pointed toward the door. "There's a family restroom just outside the doors there."

"Thank you," he said and headed for the chair to grab the diaper bag.

Catherine and the woman watched as they disappeared out the door.

"I'm Ruby," the woman said, offering her hand.

"Catherine. Nice to meet you," Catherine said as she shook Ruby's hand.

"I'm here with my grandson, Noah. That's him there." She pointed at a boy who had one of the huge beach balls in his arms. "I watch him on Mondays and Wednesdays."

"How nice," Catherine said genuinely.

"I understand that's your niece."

Catherine nodded.

"How old is she?" Ruby asked.

"Uh, eighteen months."

"He's very good with her."

"Yeah, he is." Catherine's expression was warm as her gaze drifted toward the door.

Ruby's eyes twinkled. "You're a lucky woman."

Catherine looked back at her in surprise but then smiled.

"I know."

* * *

When Steve and Catherine returned to the house with Joan, they found Danny sitting in the armchair while Mary and Grandma Ang were on the sofa with Cammie at their feet.

"Hey," Steve said, setting down a reusable bag behind the chair as he balanced Joan against his side.

"There they are," Ang said as Cammie got up to greet them.

"Mama!" Joan cried out happily, leaning out of Steve's arms and reaching for her mother.

"There's my girl," Mary said with a smile.

Steve leaned down so Mary could take her daughter. She kissed Joan's cheek and hugged her close. Joan immediately laid her head on Mary's shoulder and snuggled into her neck.

"Did you have fun with Uncle Steve and Aunt Cath?" Mary asked.

"Ann Caf," Joan said, turning her head so she could see Catherine.

"Hey, that's new," Danny said with a broad smile.

Steve nodded, squeezing Catherine's shoulder.

"What are you doing here?" he asked Danny.

"I called him," Ang said. "I wanted to make Mary some green tea and I needed fresh mint to put in it."

"Worked like a charm," Mary said. "Headache is completely gone."

"Well, yeah, the caffeine in the tea would make the Tylenol more effective," Steve said.

"Okay, Dr. Oz," Danny teased.

"What? It does. And caffeine makes the body absorb medication faster."

"Because you take _so_ many medications . . ."

"We're not talking about me, we're talking about Mary."

Catherine rolled her eyes at them and turned to Mary.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," she said.

"Thanks. How was storytime?"

"It was great," Catherine said, setting the diaper bag down on the couch beside Mary. "Joan loved it."

"Yeah," Steve said. "She took off for the windows at one point. But the librarian said that's pretty normal at her age. Doesn't mean she wasn't listening. And she loved the parachute. Some of the other kids were afraid to go underneath it, but she just crawled right under with us. Didn't you, Joanie?"

"Joanie?" Mary asked.

"Yeah, I just . . ." he shrugged. "It came out earlier and . . . it fits."

Mary smiled and said, "I like it."

"Me, too," Ang said.

"It does fit," Danny said, grinning at his friend. "Gracie and Joanie."

Steve gave him a nod.

Catherine stepped closer and rubbed Steve's arm. He smiled at her.

"I would have paid cash money to see you at a library storytime," Danny said.

Steve chuckled.

"And we checked out some books while we were there," he said, reaching back for the bag and propping it on the arm of the chair.

"You have a library card?" Danny asked.

Steve's brow furrowed. "Yeah. Don't you?"

"Of course I do. I take Grace there all the time. I'm just surprised you have one."

"Why? I read." He shook his head. "And I've been too many places where people don't have access to books or information. I know how important that is."

Danny nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, it sounds like you all had a great time," Ang said.

Catherine nodded and said, "They had a little craft station, too, so we helped Joan make this."

She leaned across Steve and pulled a paper turkey with colorful feathers out of the bag.

"Do you remember what this is, Joan?" she asked.

The toddler blinked at her.

"A turkey," Catherine said. "Remember? Turkey."

"T'key."

Mary laughed, tickling her. "That's right! Turkey!"

"Thought we'd put it on the fridge," Steve said.

Danny chuckled as he stood. He patted Steve on the arm and said, "Won't be the last, my friend."

* * *

After Joan's nap, everyone agreed to a relaxing afternoon outside before dinner.

Steve and Mary took Joan and Cammie down the water to play while Joseph and Grandma Ang settled into the adirondack chairs to watch.

Elizabeth and Catherine sat on the lanai drinking lemonade. Joan's laugh drifted up from the water, and they watched as Steve held her by the hands and dipped her feet in the waves.

Catherine caught her mother's knowing look from the corner of her eye.

"What?" she asked, though her expression showed she had a good idea.

Elizabeth shrugged. "I didn't say a word."

Catherine gave her a dubious look in return.

"Although he _is_ very good with her . . ."

"Mom," Catherine said, exasperated.

Elizabeth put her hands up in surrender and mimicked zipping her lips.

Catherine sighed with a little smile and said, "You're not the first person to point that out to me today. Not that I didn't already know that."

Elizabeth studied her for a moment.

"You can't tell me that having Joan around hasn't at least caused the thought to cross your mind," she said.

"Of course it's crossed my mind," Catherine admitted. "I would be lying if I said that I hadn't thought about it. But there's a big difference between thinking about it and being ready for that step." She shook her head. "And I'm just not sure if . . . I'm not sure if we're ready. I'm not sure if _I'm _ready."

"Well, honey, if you're not sure if you're ready, then you're probably not."

Catherine closed her eyes briefly.

When she opened them, she continued, "I've been focused on my career for a long time, and I don't regret that at all. I'm very proud of everything I've done. And there are still things I want to do."

Elizabeth sensed there was more she wanted to say.

"But . . ." she prompted.

Catherine sighed again. "When I moved to the island, a lot of things in my life changed. I started thinking about my life differently. Wanting things I didn't want before. But there was one thing that was always, _always_ in my thoughts of the future."

Elizabeth smiled. "Steve."

Catherine's eyes drifted back to the water.

"Steve."

She paused, then said, "And when I thought about having a family, I thought . . . someday . . . maybe. If it's what we both wanted." She looked back at her mother. "But way in the future, you know? 'Someday' is a nice . . . abstract concept."

She paused again, and took a deep breath.

"The thing is, Mom . . . 'someday' doesn't seem like such an abstract concept anymore."

Now it was Elizabeth's turn to pause.

"Then it sounds to me like you and Steve may need to have a conversation."

* * *

Catherine came into the den that night and was surprised to see Steve sitting on the small sofa rather than on the air mattress.

"Hey," she said, joining him.

She turned to face him, tucking her feet under her and laying her arm along the back of the sofa.

He gave her a soft smile.

"Hey," he said and entwined their fingers loosely. "What's on your mind? You've been half here, half in your head since before dinner."

She smiled and looked down at their joined fingers, running her thumb along the outside of his.

Licking her lips, she looked back at him. "I've been thinking about a conversation I had with my mom this afternoon."

He nodded. "I think I can guess what that was about."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He gave a little shrug. "Makes sense with Joan here."

She nodded and squeezed his fingers.

"But I don't think we should talk about it tonight," she said.

He looked surprised.

"No?"

"No. I mean, we've got a full house, a full schedule. It's the holiday and our family's here and that makes everything seem . . . I don't know . . . kind of ideal."

He remained quiet, waiting for her to continue.

"I think we should wait until we've got the house to ourselves again. When things are back to normal." She smiled. "Well, as normal as they get for us."

His brow furrowed slightly, wanting to understand. "So you want to talk about this . . . but not right now?"

"Right."

"So we're . . . what? We're agreeing to have a talk about . . . about what we both want . . . at some point soon? Is that what's happening?"

She flashed him a smile. "Yeah."

After a pause he smiled, nodding.

"Okay."

He raised their joined hands to his mouth and kissed her fingers.

"Besides," she said with a smile. "Big day tomorrow. We need to get a good night's sleep so we're ready to take Joan to Pearl."

* * *

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